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Chinese magazine says Japan using suicide incident to boost spying+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BEIJING, Jan. 27_(Kyodo) _ Japan is using the 2004 suicide of a Japanese diplomat in Shanghai as an excuse to strengthen its spying abilities, a Chinese magazine linked to the Foreign Ministry said in its latest edition. World Affairs, a magazine on diplomatic affairs, said in an article in its Feb. 1 edition that behind the row between China and Japan over the incident is Japan's intention to emphasize the threat of an information battle with China. "The 'China information threat' theory proposes an imaginary enemy and creates a sense of crisis," the article said. "This gives a timely excuse for Japan to strongly promote" its information-gathering activities, it said. The suicide incident came to light in December when Japanese media reported that a staff member at Japan's consulate general in Shanghai had committed suicide, leaving a note indicating he was under pressure to provide China with confidential information. Japan has filed protests with China. But Beijing has slammed Tokyo's allegation that it played a role in the suicide, calling it a deliberate attempt to taint China's image. The magazine article also said that another intention behind the incident was to take power away from Japanese diplomats and politicians friendly to China. The magazine is under the control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the head of the publishing company is a former ministry official. |